Electronic apparatuses have been reduced in size and improved in performance. In general, such high-performance electronic apparatuses generate large amounts of heat and are required to dissipate internal heat of the electronic apparatuses in order to prevent unstable operation due to elevated temperature. However, the heat dissipation systems must be provided without increasing the sizes of the electronic apparatuses. For example, heat transport devices installed in desktop personal computers cannot be directly installed in CPUs of mobile devices.
In order to achieve a reduction in size and an improvement in performance of the electronic apparatuses described above, heatpipes are used for transporting heat from heat-generating sources to heat-dissipating units. Among them, capillary pumped loops/loop heat pipes (referred to CPL/LHP hereinafter) are now developed to achieve a high heat-transport capability and a reduction in size and thickness.
The basic principle of the CPL/LHP is almost the same as that of a general heatpipe; i.e. an enclosed refrigerant absorbs heat by vaporization in a vaporization unit and dissipates the heat by liquefaction in a liquefaction unit. Thus, the heat energy is transported from the vaporization unit to the liquefaction unit.
In the CPL/LHP, the liquefied refrigerant is sucked by capillary action (suction of the refrigerant by capillary force) and is transported to the vaporization unit so that the refrigerant is continuously vaporized, resulting in the continuous operation of the heatpipe.
A technology in which heatpipes are in a composite structure has been disclosed (see PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2000-506432).
However, PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2000-506432 does not sufficiently disclose a structure and a manufacturing process that are suitable for forming the heatpipe in a composite configuration. For example, a structure and a manufacturing process suitable for forming plastic CPL/LHP are not disclosed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat transport device having a composite structure that is readily manufactured and a method for manufacturing such a heat transport device, in view of such a circumstance.